Assignment 5
Assignment 5
1. Explain the semantic ambiguity of the following sentences by providing two or more
sentences for each that paraphrase the multiple meanings. Example: “She can’t bear children”
can mean either “She can’t give birth to children” or “She can’t tolerate children.”
e. When he got the clear title to the land, it was a good deed.
1) The clear title about the land was reasonable.
2) It was good of him to get the title to the land.
1) A blessing in Disguise
meaning: It means a good thing that seemed bad at first. And, it used as part of a sentence.
origin: The origin of the idiom 'a blessing in disguise' is believed to be in the mid-1700s, however,
scholars have yet to pin down the first usage of the term.
The earliest instance of the term found in print was a 1746 work by English writer James Hervey
titled Reflections on a Flower-Garden.
4) Piece of Cake
meaning: It is used to describe something that is very easy to complete.
origin: The idea of cake, which is literally a flat, sweet baked item, as being easy, originated
sometime during the 1870s when cakes were often handed out as prizes in cakewalks, which were
easy competitions to win. As for the origin of the idiom 'a piece of cake,' Ogden Nash was the
first to use it in print when he wrote “Her pictures in the papers now, and life’s a piece of cake” in
his 1936 work Primrose Path.
5) No pain, no gain
meaning: It means that you have to work for what you want. It used by itself.
origin: The phrase no pain, no gain was popularized in the 1980s by the American actress, Jane
Fonda. Fonda initiated the aerobics workout craze with a series of videos, in which she proclaimed
the ethic “No pain, no gain,” and “Feel the burn.” Interestingly, the sentiment has its roots
hundreds of years earlier.
The most general consensus is that the term originated either in Germany or Scotland, as there
are plenty of examples of its use as a way to describe something that is physically impossible.